brucine (broo'-seen), 1) n. Pharm., Chem. a bitter, poisonous alkaloid, C23H26N2O4, obtained from the nux vomica tree; 2) n. Bruce Bortin's 'low-impact' weblog

Sunday, June 26, 2005

Urine Trouble


Urine Trouble, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

The car we rented from Enterprise had the stench of urine in the trunk. I'm having a hard time imagining the scenario that resulted in a trunkful of pee, but there it was.

They were very nice when we brought it back to exchange it for another dumbass vehicle.

______________________________________________________________________
From now on when I rent a car, I'll be packing this crapola. It comes with a urine-detecting UV lamp!




Thursday, June 23, 2005

From the "Asperger's Much?" Collection

purple, red, purple, red, purple

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Midsummer Foliage


Midsummer Foliage, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

Good Lord, I've Married Well


Good Lord, I've Married Well, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

Absolutely gorgeous, and no dum-dum, either! Love ya, Babe!

Solstice Light


Solstice Light, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

Al's Birthday


Al's Birthday, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

Al & Mary over drinks at the Claremont

Sunday, June 19, 2005

Grave Marker


Grave Marker, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

R.I.P

Friendly little mousie
May your spirit soar and
bring joy to others

LEMMIWINKS

Adam & Audrey


Adam & Audrey, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

.

Audrey & Nasturtium


Audrey & Nasturtium, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

.

R.I.P. Lemmiwinks


R.I.P. Lemmiwinks, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

.

Saturday, June 18, 2005

Birgita & Kitane


Birgita & Kitane, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

Sisters, dontcha know.

Matt Gonzales at the EDC Fundraiser

Attempting, unsuccessfully, to resemble Jake Applebaum (geek inset)

While the failed mayoral candidate attempted to zombify the throng with speech, a chafing dish of (unidentified, probably mammalian) blood simmered in the back of the room.

Outside the Ramada


Outside the Ramada, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

Then it was oof to the swanky Ramada Inn on Market Street to attend the gala Eviction Defense Collaborative's fundraiser.

Yes, oof.

Mole Verde

Photo courtesy http://thehappysorceress.blogspot.com/
The evening began pleasantly enough, with mole verde at Puerto Alegre
Mary, Cathy & I met there at 6:30.

When we left, I reeked of pipian & corn chips

Friday, June 17, 2005

Lying in the Dark, Cracking Wise at NPR

Ray in Happier Times


Ray in Happier Times, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

Mere hours before the bitter, crashing disappointment of Lo-Fat, Dick Van Patten Bucket Day.

*UGH*

Honeysuckle Leaf in Rain


Honeysuckle Leaf in Rain, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Evernay indmay ethay exsay istolspay. I'm an idiot-ay.

This showed up in the mailbox today. I'd sent it off to Thos y Pamela, what? Nearly a month ago. Like, May 20th. And I never heard a thing from them, and it's the DVD of "The Sixth Obstruction" that I'd made pretty much exclusively for Thomas, as he's the one who'd turned me on to "The Five Obstructions", and when he never mentioned it during our ongoing negotiations over the upcoming trip to Eugene, I just figured, OMG, it's hideous and I stink, and Thomas hasn't said anything about the video because he doesn't want to embarrass me.

And now it turns out that I'm a different kind of idiot, a "forgot to affix any stamps to the freakin' envelope" kind of idiot. Oh, ollocksbay.

Pearl Affronted


Pearl Affronted, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

*sigh*

Monday, June 13, 2005

"Repulse Monkey" Still


"Repulse Monkey" Still, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

The new website is all about the video. Here's a still from "How to Repulse Monkey", one of the videos that you can see there.

Bortino 2.0 Logo


Bortino 2.0 Logo, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

This is the masthead for my new website that I'm building.

Check it out!

Where the Tire Gave Out


Where the Tire Gave Out, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

On Saturday, Mary & I went for a bike ride. We had wanted to see the new park that the Port of Oakland has made at the end of 7th Street.

Getting there on the bikes was pretty gritty. The route's really set up exclusively for motor vehicles. Somewhere along the way there, my rear tire picked up a piece of glass and developed a leak.

This charming intersection is where we had to turn back, on foot. CRAP!

From the "What Th--?" Collection


From the "What Th--?" Collection, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

Some kind of urban crustacean scrabbling up Jackson Street.

Quick! Get a staple-gun and some drawn butter.

Chrome Dome


Chrome Dome, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

I certainly am opaque. And look! The northern half of my head is a perfect hemisphere. Except for a hideous deformity. Or two. But who's counting, anyways?

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Reflection


Reflection, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

The reflection of "bortino" off the sheets of glass that, cladding the plinth, will reinforce the wheel's support.

Scarred Plinth


Scarred Plinth, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

The prayerwheel that I made for Al years ago is feeling the effects of the weather. Al asked me to do some maintenance on it, so yesterday I went to work.

This is the bottom plinth that supports the beam that supports the wheel.

BVFF Bruce


BVFF Bruce, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

Speaking briefly at last year's Berkeley Video & Film Festival. From the East Bay Media Center's website.

The deadline for this year's BVFF is coming up next month. I've gotta decide what I'm gonna enter. Any suggestions?

Monday, June 06, 2005

Tom Likes Pie


Tom Likes Pie, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

Mary brought a couple pieces of Cathy's pie to our neighbor Tom. He liked it.

Sunday, June 05, 2005

Renee Zellweger


Renee Zellweger, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

Stunning likeness, no?

Basket with Reflectors


Basket with Reflectors, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

I'm trying to arrange the reflectors so that they'll create a portrait of Renee Zellweger. Need one more eye to make it right, though.

Mary's New Bike


Mary's New Bike, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

It's zippy-skippy!

Parking Meter & Image of Parking Meter

Unsigned drop art on upper Grand Avenue

Mary's Old Bike


Mary's Old Bike, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

We're just about to leave for Cycle Sports to pick up Mary's new bike. With any luck, we'll be returning without this old clunker, which, God knows, doesn't owe anybody a thing.

Rhubarb Pie


Rhubarb Pie, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

Great Day in the Morning! Cathy just showed up on her way to the bobblehead game with a rhubarb pie for me.

The pie is good. Oh, yes. The pie is very good.

Thanks, Cathy!

Fisherman's wharf


Fisherman's wharf, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

I met Cathy & Mary at Fisherman's Wharf on Friday.
Fisherman's Wharf.

Oy vey ist mir.


It was so stupid there, I could barely operate my camera.
Look.
Look at that picture!
It's the side of a tourbus that I was trying to take a shot of my reflection in, but I couldn't get the camear set up properly, or even pointed in the right direction. Yeesh.

But we had nice takeaway calamari salads from Sabella & Latorre. And then headed down to Sinbad's for a drink overlooking the bay.

Ray at the Faucet


Ray at the Faucet, originally uploaded by dumbeast.


Ray likes to drink water that drips out of the bathtub tap. I love that guy.
I made a movie. [Available online for a limited time right here!]

Palm Trunks


Palm Trunks, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

Looking for ants. Crawling up the tree trunk? To video tape? Why, wha'd you *think*?

Thursday, June 02, 2005

How About Capitalism Shuts Up for a While?

I've become fascinated by Catherine Zeta Jones' odd, crablike walk in this T-Mobile ad on TV. It's special.

I'm working on a short video.

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

I'd Hate to Venture a Guess


I'd Hate to Venture a Guess, originally uploaded by dumbeast.

This 9-inch baking pan was outside a stoop on Alice Street. I'd like to think that I'm not looking at an overcooked severed hand with a side of spaghetti.

My Blog List

Followers

Blog Archive